by Jaymin Eve
Josian was just stepping forward to intercede when a roar had us spinning to the ocean. One of Traktin’s creatures had risen from the water behind Gladriel and Raror.
Chapter 11
We’d been distracted watching Brace and Talina argue. No one was looking at the water, not even Gladriel. She was in the worst position with her back facing the briny depths. My warning screams fell into the roaring wind as the creature reared up behind the pair. Gladriel shifted, but she was a second too late. With a sharp screech the animal projected one of its many tentacles, and the straight sharp movement pierced Gladriel through her back, impaling her.
She was still holding Raror, so the spike also entered his body. I could see him arch up as the tip became visible in the front of his abdomen. Josian ran at Walker speed to the water line. On the way he gathered energy between his parted hands and blasted the creature. It shimmered for a moment as his projected power encased it and it screamed in agony, sending a shiver down my spine. It fell apart into two smaller creatures, which flapped helplessly for a few moments.
Josian caught Raror in his arms and dragged him up the beach. Gladriel was thrown to the ground behind them, but I didn’t spare her a second glance. Talina and I reached them at the same time. Her face was white and I realized I’d seen dead people with more color than she currently had.
“Raror ...?” Her voice broke.
“Gladriel’s dead,” Brace said.
He must have checked her before moving back up the beach to us. Talina didn’t look up from Raror or acknowledge Brace in any way.
“Hey, little mermaid sister,” Raror rasped. Small bubbles of dark blood blossomed from the corner of his lips. “You are far too brave. You should never have tried to save me ... it’s my job to save you.” His yellow eyes were warm.
Talina pressed her hand tight against the injury on his stomach. But the blood continued a slow ebbing from his wound.
Her brown eyes filled with tears, overflowing and running in rivulets down her cheeks.
“Raror ... no ... you need to listen to me. You promised, so you can’t leave me. You have to hold on. We can get you help.” Her desperate features sought Josian. “Can you do something? Help him?”
Josian hesitated, his strong facial planes wracked in sorrow. I just knew he didn’t have good news.
“Talina, I don’t have any ability to heal; I could try and repair the outer damage that I can see, but there is too much internal.” He looked up at Brace, who was standing protectively behind us. “Do you have any healing abilities?”
Brace stepped forward before kneeling beside Raror.
“I have some small ability, but I think he might be too injured.”
Too far gone.
His thoughts were somber as he laid both hands across Raror’s abdomen. I couldn’t see anything happening, but I felt a gathering of energy and then warmth seemed to surround us.
“You stay with Abby.” Raror coughed again. He had not taken his eyes from Talina once. “She will look after you.”
A dull light reflected in the yellow of his eyes. I felt Brace’s desperation. I placed my hand gently on his back, where he was crouched on the sand, sending him my warmth and support.
I can’t heal this, Red. The limb pierced a major vein of the heart, the vena cava, I think. He is bleeding out.
Tears filled my eyes. I liked Raror and the scene between the siblings was just devastating.
This is going to kill Talina. But if you can’t save him, then just step back and let them have this moment.
I knew he’d try until all hope was gone, but it would be better for Talina to say goodbye. After a few more futile moments he took my advice, straightening to stand next to me.
“I’m sorry, Talina. There is just too much damage. I did everything I could.” His voice wavered. “You should say your goodbyes.”
“No ...” she said. “No, you can’t stop. He can be saved.” Her voice rose in desperation.
“Talli, he is right.” Raror’s quiet words captured her attention again.
Her face crumpled even as she continued to shake her head in denial.
Raror finally tore his eyes from her.
“Look after Talina,” he said to me. He didn’t wait for my reply, turning back to her immediately.
“I love you, Talina of Earon. You save the world. You find your destiny.”
Despite the alien nature of Raror’s features, I found his face lovely in that moment. Talina sobbed once, and I could see from the corner of my eye that she was leaning against him.
“I don’t think I can do this without you,” she whispered in a broken voice. “You are my rock.”
“No, you have always been my rock. I am a far better Spurn because of you. Do not mourn this. I will wait for you in the fade.” He lifted one hand and wiped her tears.
This seemed to be the last of his energy. His arm fell back down and his eyes shuttered, as if about to close.
I turned away then, staring into the endless beauty of the ocean, searching for comfort. Brace placed a hand on my cheek before leaning down to rest his forehead on mine. I let the tears free. The salty river of pain flowed in an endless torrent. Brace wiped them away without saying a word; he let me have my pain, giving only his comforting touch.
I heard Raror’s stuttered breath, and then there was no more. Talina started to wail, loud shrieking mourning wails. The wind went crazy around us. Brace dragged me backwards, just in time to avoid a tidal wave. From where we’d fallen into the sand I struggled to reach Talina. I couldn’t hear that pain any longer and not attempt to comfort her. But the wind held me motionless. At least, from what I could see through the sand, Talina looked to be safe in the center of her storm. She’d gathered Raror’s body up in her arms, and was rocking back and forth. Her wails increased. I couldn’t say how many endless moments we waited, watching her as she begged, prayed and cursed to whichever god the Spurns worshipped.
“We have to get to her, Brace. How long can she do this?” I turned to face him.
He sat behind me, one of his large, warm hands rubbing gentle circles along my spine.
“She could mourn like this forever, Red. Raror was her everything. The grief for that knows no limits or boundaries,” he said with a quiet sadness, and I wondered who he’d lost.
I swallowed audibly. “That’s how I felt when Lucy was kidnapped, but even then I had no definite proof she was dead. I refused to even consider it.”
His face hardened. “I can’t forget the look on your face that day – that dead look.” He took my chin in his hand. “I vowed I would never see that again. But it was there again when you found out about me, when you asked me to leave you alone. It was there and I was the cause.” He growled. “If anyone else had caused you to feel pain like that I’d have ended them where they stood. But it was me, and there is nothing I can do but make it up to you forever.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, his lips lingering. It was odd to have him kiss me so casually, and yet it felt as if we’d been joined together for years.
I decided to change the subject. We still had a lot to work through – including his little episode of hiding the truth from me – but right now that was too heavy.
My eyes filled with tears. I couldn’t help it. The scene with Raror’s face in those final moments continued to play through my mind.
“Baby, please don’t do that. Don’t let it linger in your mind. You have to release the pain, or it will dig in deep and take hold.”
I gulped in a couple of breaths, raising my eyes up trying to stem the flow of tears. Brace placed his hands on my cheeks, using his thumbs to gently wipe at my overflow of pain.
“I … just … it was so quick.” My words stumbled as I tried to express the pain.
“Life is one of those things that can be over in an instant, even for those of us long-lived. We must embrace every moment.”
I lowered my eyes to stare at him. The tears continued, letting free
some of weight on my heavy heart.
“Want to know about my dreams?” Brace said his voice tinged with desperation. He didn’t like me crying. Luckily, his attempt at distraction worked. My pulse race, I’d been dying to know what his dreams were.
I nodded briskly, and with his hands still resting on either side of my face, he leaned in close and touched his lips to my forehead. I was about to protest when I realized I was no longer seeing the Spurn beach but a scene of pure unending love. I was in Brace’s mind.
I couldn’t see the faces clearly, but I knew it was us. As his dream progressed the images came into focus. We were running through the forest of First World. No ... that wasn’t right, not running, Brace was chasing me. But I looked like I was gliding above the foliaged ground. My red Walker marks were on display. I laughed freely and occasionally shrieked as his long arms almost captured me. I could tell he wasn’t putting much effort into catching me. His expression was joyful; he was enjoying the chase. And even though I’m pretty competitive, I was just waiting to be caught.
Suddenly the laughter ceased and darkness flooded the sunlit trees. As an observer I couldn’t do anything, but the Abby of the dream spun around, her ... my ... features alight with surprise. Brace was nowhere to be seen. She looked panicked as she pushed through the fog, the trees whipping around in a cruel wind.
“Brace!” she screamed out, falling to her knees.
The wind howled, blowing her red curls everywhere. I silently urged her to get back up, to run from the darkness.
Then he burst through the gloom, glowing, in the same way Josian always did – light surrounding him on all sides – and he was levitating off the ground. I expected dream Abby to run straight to him, but she hesitated. Standing slowly, she actually started to back away.
“Brace?” she questioned, and I suddenly understood.
His eyes were a swirling mass of gold. And the darkness that flooded the forest and was turning my blood to ice poured from his outstretched hands. He moved too fast, capturing her face in both hands. Leaning down, he was about to press his lips to hers, and that was when I noticed the darkness was inside his mouth also; he was going to flood her with darkness. I screamed my own warning. Which I knew was useless. The scene faded out at this point.
Back on the beach I yanked myself free from Brace. Safe to say, I’d been suitably distracted from my grief.
“What the hell was that?” My heart raced. The adrenalin flooding my system didn’t understand that was just a dream.
He gave me a half-smile.
“I don’t know, Red, which is why I haven’t told you about it.” He stared out into space. “That damn dream’s been haunting me for years.” He shook his head. “But one thing was always clear. I had a mate, a beautiful, sarcastic, funny mate. And despite the nature of the dream, I looked forward to it every night.”
“Yeah, but now I have to worry about you doing that freaky gold-eye, evil-smoggy-hands thing.” My words stumbled over each other in my haste.
He laughed. “I promise I’ve never gone freaky gold-eye before. You know most dreams are more metaphoric than literal.”
He might not be worried, but I couldn’t shake my unease.
Around us the winds slowly faded. We were still confined behind a wall of sand, but Talina’s howls no longer filled the air. Instead, it looked as if she was speaking quietly to Raror. She lay next to him, staring down into his face. She held onto him, preventing the lapping water from stealing him away. The lump returned to my throat. Swallowing audibly, I turned back to Brace.
“So why do you call me Abby?” I said.
He’d been staring down, gathering large handfuls of sand, and then letting them flow out through his open fingers. But at my question he raised his head, his velvet eyes pinning me to the spot.
“That’s your name,” he said. His expression lightened.
I snorted under my breath. “You know what I mean. Why don’t you call me Aribella like everyone else from First World?”
It was so hard to read him. He was very good at concealing his emotions, and right now I wasn’t picking up anything important from our bond. He shook his head. He almost seemed sad.
“Aribella doesn’t belong to me. I have always known that. She’s Sammy’s sister and Lucas’ Empress and the First-World girl I was going to destroy for my father. But Abigail, well, she’s been mine since we collided in the forest. Well, much before that actually, but it’s since the forest I’ve known she was mine – you’re mine.” He flashed me a gorgeous grin, all blinding white teeth.
“That’s a pretty good answer,” I said, feeling the warmth of his words spread through me.
Leaning over, I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. I was his, and he was mine, and there was no other he ever needed to worry about. We sat like that until the wind had completely died around us.
“Should we check on Talina?” I said, pulling back. My worry for her had not abated at all.
“Yes, we should deal with this before all the crazy Spurns return from wherever they disappeared,” Josian said as he popped up behind us.
I barely prevented a shriek from escaping. I swore instead.
“I need to invent a collared bell for you Walkers,” I said.
They were too quiet and sneaky. Josian snorted, looking amused.
I jumped up smoothly, marvelling at how flexible and athletic I was becoming.
“I have no idea what to say to her,” I whispered as we closed the distance.
The bright blue moonlights reflected off the calm of the water. There was no evidence a storm had even passed. As usual, the men had no useful advice.
“Talli?” I said, dropping down. I knew instinctively not to touch her.
She didn’t look at me.
“What do you need us to do?”
“I have to bury him, a proper Spurn burial,” she said, her face resting against his neck. She was still rocking back and forth. “I promised him I’d see him home to the fade.”
I figured the fade was their afterlife.
“Yes, we’ll give Raror his final journey before we leave,” I said, “but do we need to keep an eye out for the rest of the Spurns? Are they going to try and finish you off as well?”
“No, that will not happen.” Lisped words came from behind.
Brace and Josian fell into a defensive pose, blocking our vulnerable position on the ground.
Looking around their legs, I could see an emerald-haired Spurn. She was stiff, and looked as if she wished she was anywhere else.
“We were all overtaken by some type of fervor. I could see what I was doing, but didn’t care or understand why,” she tried to explain.
Her hands were clutched across her stomach as she stared past us toward Talina and Raror.
“Earon want to mourn Raror. We need to prepare the fade ceremony,” she finally croaked out.
There was no mention of Gladriel. Talina didn’t move or lift her head, but she spoke strongly.
“Do not come any closer,” she said to the other Earon. “I know you were Raror’s mating partner this season. But I will not share the honor of sending him off. He was my brother for all seasons.”
She spoke with such dignity, and for the first time raised her face to stare at us directly. Her lovely brown eyes were swollen, ringed in heavy red. Her features were grave, a sadness that could never be resolved. She wore her loss in such a profound manner that again I found my eyes filling with tears.
“I understand, Talina. I will let the others know of your wishes. The pontoon is being prepared. We will leave as soon as you are aboard.”
The Spurn walked away.
“We need to go to sea for the ceremony?” I asked, even though I knew on Spurn there would be no other way.
“Yes, I will carry Raror, and release him back to the ocean from which we are born.” She stood then, and with a deceptive strength gathered her brother into her arms.
She began her journey along the bea
ch. Every step she took weighed her footprints into the damp sand, but she never faltered. She bore her burden with poise and a sense of purpose that would have made Raror proud. As we walked, I finally let my eyes rest on the fallen Spurn. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful, despite the myriad of cuts and bruises littering his features.
I had seen my share of dead bodies on Earth, but not anyone that I really cared about. My thoughts were heavy as we followed Talina. She never showed the burden of his weight. The only time she stumbled was the moment the Earon pontoon came into view. It was the only break in the horizon line. Emerald-green flags flew from every level. Talina fell to her knees, but didn’t drop her precious parcel. She sobbed tearlessly into his chest.
“I am sorry, my brother. The flags should have flown for me first. It was never supposed to be you.”
She continued to talk to him as she rose again and stepped out into the water. We watched from the beach. It took her no time to reach the pontoon, even dragging Raror with her. Many Earon hands helped pull them aboard. There were many sorrowful faces with so much grief pouring from them.
Talina stood on deck to wave us over.
“I wondered if we were invited,” Brace said as we paused at the edge of the water. “Do you need help, Abby?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve spent enough time in the water recently. I think I’m getting the hang of this swimming thing. Just don’t let any creatures eat me,” I added when we were standing waist deep.
They both laughed, which was in no way reassuring.
Keeping my head above the water, I paddled out at a reasonably fast pace. I wished again that I hadn’t worn jeans. They were not the most comfortable swimming attire. Brace stayed close to me. By the time we reached the pontoon, there was no sign of Talina. Other Earons helped us aboard and directed us upstairs to wait as the pontoon started to move off swiftly as if a hundred seahorses pulled it.
“I wonder where they go for this ceremony,” I said as the land disappeared behind us.
“Someplace sacred to them,” Josian said.
